Collaborative Scenario Builder: A VR Co-Design Tool for Medical First Responders

Abstract

The rising occurrence of natural and human-made disasters emphasises the urgent need for effective training of medical first responders (MFRs). Virtual Reality (VR) has recently been used to enhance traditional MFR training. However, to ensure that VR training improves disaster preparedness, it is not only crucial for MFR stakeholders to actively participate in the design process. It may also be beneficial to place the co-design process in VR so that novice co-designers establish a profound, hands-on understanding of VR as a training tool. Thus, we introduce the Collaborative Scenario Builder (CSB), a prototype for MFRs without technical and designerly expertise with which to co-design scenarios for virtual simulation training in VR. An evaluation with 33 MFR participants indicates that CSB is usable and provides participants with an embodied understanding of VR, leading to new perspectives in their collaborative design considerations. Thus, CSB contributes to a co-design workflow with MFR co-designers that ensures that created VR training tools are needed and beneficial for MFRs so that they can provide better aid to people in the face of disasters.